Dominick Cruz: ‘Mackenzie Dern was basically cheating at UFC 224’

Mackenzie Dern picked up her second UFC win last weekend at UFC 224 submitting Amanda Cooper in the first round.

Dern’s win was incredibly impressive, but it was not without controversy. Dern tipped the scales and had a significant seven pounds above the strawweight division’s 116-pound cap. Cooper ultimately the fight and received 30% of Dern’s purse. However, UFC bantamweight champ and UFC commentator Dominick Cruz feels that Dern essentially cheated in this fight.

“That weight is a huge advantage,” Cruz said on the UFC 224 post fight show (transcribed by Damon Martin for MMANytt). “There’s a reason, ladies and gentlemen, why we have weight classes. When you’re seven pounds over a weight class, that is not trying to make weight. That is creating yourself an advantage to win. Because in the end, how sad was Dern about the weight loss or being too heavy? She was just happy to have the win.

“That’s the point of this sport to win and when you come in with that big of a weight advantage, being a 45’er to a 35’er, being a 35’er to a 25’er, being a 85’er to a 70 pounder, that’s an advantage,” Cruz added. “That’s a huge advantage and it’s basically cheating in my opinion.”

Mackenzie Dern’s weigh-in miss was so controversial because it was not the first time she’s missed weight. She missed her mark many times in her seven-fight MMA career and several times in BJJ competition as well.